Fairly often people write to me asking if I'd have time to read and/or
critique their story/poem/etc. While I wish I did have that time, I'm
generally pretty swamped with my workshop crits and my own writing. I
can however highly recommend the Writing Workshop, for fabulous crits
and friendly advice. It's divided into several forums (fiction, poetry,
novels, nonfiction, writing chat (a separate linked list), and the
write lab (exercises on craft)), and hopefully there's a place for
everyone.We've also finally found a host for the Erotica Writers' Workshop, a spin-off from the original workshop. I'm moderating it, and if you're interested in the guidelines for joining, please read our guidelines. Be warned that it's a pretty serious time commitment, and we don't allow slackers. Editors and other professionals in the field are also welcome.
The main list is pretty open to adult material -- they do request it be marked as such. They're also a group of people who are pretty serious about their writing, so please don't join unless you are too -- you'll just waste your time and theirs. There are fairly strict participation and confidentiality requirements for both lists.
They have a helpful Writing Workshop Web Page - check it out!
To join the main Writing Workshop, send mail to listserv@psuvm.psu.edu with the message 'subscribe writing yourname' (e.g. 'subscribe writing John Thomas') in the body of your text. Do not put anything else in your message!
If you don't get many crits of your first submissions, don't get discouraged -- it sometimes takes a little while. It's a great group, and I really recommend them highly. Good luck!